Black Snowfall
by ThePaintedGrey
Summary: As Team RWBY hurtles through its remaining years at Beacon and looks ahead towards a bright future of slaying Grimm and keeping peace, tensions grow under the surface between two unsuspecting teammates. Monochrome.
1. First Snow

_**Author's Notes:**_

 **Hi all! This is my first attempt at a full-fledged, multi-chaptered fic. It will most likely be my main creative project for months to come. I will try to keep the story as close to canon as possible for now, but I cannot say for certain that it will remain that way later on down the line.**

 **Please leave a review! Any and all feedback is welcome.  
**

 ** _Dedicated to Monty Oum. A true inspiration for us all and an unrelenting creative force._**

* * *

Chapter 1: _First Snow_

The air that night was dead quiet, save for the faint sounds of two pencils scribbling themselves onto paper in the dorm room. With midterms fast approaching at Beacon, scenes like this had become all too common throughout student complexes. Suffice it to say, the difference was stark indeed compared to a couple months prior at the open of spring semester. Nowadays, there was hardly any loud music blaring through hallways, never mind confetti littering the whole scene.

Weiss stole a cursory glance at her hooded teammate and current study partner before bringing her eyes back to her hand-written essay. As the two were assigned as partners and shared identical assignments, they usually worked on their homework together. Weiss had just a single paragraph left to write, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to find the right way to finish the damn essay as unrelated thoughts began to randomly assail her.

The heiress shook her head, furious with herself that she could be even more distracted than the ever-impulsive Ruby Rose sitting across the desk from her. But try as she might, Weiss could not keep her jumbled thoughts at bay. An alarming amount of them seemed to yet again involve one of her other teammates, the amber-eyed faunus of the group.

Weiss absently wondered what Blake and her team partner Yang were up to at the moment. _Were they still at the cafeteria? Maybe they're studying at the library? Or possibly…_

"Weiss!"

Pulled from her thoughts, she almost jumped as her name was suddenly called. After gathering her bearings once again, she turned in a flash to the source of the disturbance.

"What, Ruby?! Don't startle me like that!"

"Ehehe… sorry Weiss," voiced the younger girl, "I was just wondering what's on your mind, that's all! It's not usual I see the ice princess herself staring up into space during a study session of all things."

Weiss drew in a halting breath, ignoring the "ice princess" comment for the time being.

"I don't know… probably just the long day getting to me."

"Something on your mind?" asked Ruby in a bright voice, eager to help out her teammate if something was bothering her.

"Well…" Weiss sighed before continuing, "OK, I know this might sound weird, but… what do you think Blake thinks of me?"

"You mean… as a friend? As a teammate?" A spark then lit up in the hooded girl's eyes. "Or do you mean-"

"Yes! I mean, no! No, I don't know, just… do you think she hates me?"

Ruby looked at her partner as if she were speaking an alien tongue.

"Blakey, hate you? What makes you think that? Why, the four of us are best friends! And more importantly, devoted members of team RWBY!" declared the red-clothed girl, a gleam entering her youthful eyes.

"Well… yeah. It's just…" Weiss gulped as her throat went suddenly dry. Vocally admitting what was on her mind was going to prove a more difficult task than she could have ever imagined. Although the heiress may have humbled herself a great deal since her first day at the Academy, her pride was still a competent force. After a few moments of struggling, she finally let the words extract themselves from her mouth.

"I don't know if she can really forgive me for all those… things… I said about her and her… _kind_." She was of course referring to the tension that had developed and subsequently exploded between her and Blake in regards to the latter girl's identity as a faunus.

It was not often that Weiss directly admitted to previous misdeeds. If anything, she'd usually try to forget anything even happened as her way of 'apologizing.' Nevertheless, ever since the revelation about Blake being not only a faunus but former member of the White Fang, the girl had been constantly weighing on Weiss's mind. Gaining some more confidence and momentum from getting that first confession out of the way, the heiress let more words tumble out of her mouth as her teammate listened patiently.

"It's… weird. I really don't _want_ to be thinking about her so much; I mean, I don't know if it's out of guilt or pity or what, I just don't want her to hate me. Or think I hate her! I don't even _necessarily_ hate the faunus either."

"I really do think she appreciates you, Weiss." Counseled the young team leader, "Blake might not be the type to always say what's on her mind, but I'm sure she's not one to hold a grudge for too long."

"Well, she _can_ overreact to things. You know, like straight up disappearing after revealing her identity to us! And well… I _did_ call her old buddies in the White Fang a bunch of liars and thieves," countered Weiss.

"And murderers!" Chirped the young auburn-haired girl, "don't forget that one!"

"Your assistance in this matter is as indispensable as ever, dear team leader." The sarcasm dripping from Weiss's mouth was practically visible. Uttering another line under her breath, she continued, "though it _is_ true. They _are_ a bunch of filthy murderers."

Ruby responded with a bit of nervous laughter. "While that may be the case, let's get back to Blake. We both know _she_ wouldn't kill anyone for stupid reasons like someone like Torchwick would."

"Of course she wouldn't!" Weiss surprised herself with how emphatically she responded. "Anyway… I know there haven't been any major conflicts between us lately. I guess I'm just not quite sure if that's enough…"

"Then tell her!" Ruby beamed as she put forth her sudden, brilliant idea, "just tell her that you like her! I'm sure she won't hate you then!"

"L-l-like her?!" Echoed a flustered Weiss, her voice rising an octave. "Just because I don't despise her, that doesn't mean-"

"So you _don't_ like Blake?" Wondered a perplexed Ruby.

"N-no! I-I… I mean… oh whatever! Forget about it. I'm going to get some fresh air!" Her voice shrill and face reddening against her will, Weiss leapt up and purposefully marched towards the door. Upon donning a pair of boots and pushing the door open, she swiftly scowled backwards, stormed out of the room and left behind a now thoroughly confused Ruby.

"Sure…" Ruby let the word hang in the air as the ice princess vanished from sight. As she considered mentioning the episode to her older sister later, the young huntress-in-training marveled at how mystifying a specimen Weiss could be at times.

* * *

Grimacing as cold air assailed her face, Weiss strolled out of the dorm building and desperately tried to collect her thoughts.

 _What are you doing? Why did you run out like that?!_ As she scolded herself for behaving so childishly in her mind, the girl recalled the exchange just now and tried to will the heat in her face away. The more she talked to Ruby about Blake, the more she had ended up getting flustered and agitated.

After a full ten minutes of wandering around aimlessly, Weiss was still unable to sort out her thoughts about the whole situation. And no matter how much she tried to think about something else, an image of the ever stoic Blake continually crept itself back into her mind.

 _Do I actually…_ like _her? In the sense of the word that scythe-wielding dolt probably wasn't even thinking about?_ Her face grew even hotter as the unlikely possibility invaded her mind. The mere thought seemed ludicrous, given… well, everything!

"Ugh!" Weiss audibly let out her frustration as she kicked at some grass.

 _The girl's a faunus! She was part of the_ White Fang _! For all I know, she could've been among the rascals who stole that train car full of her own family's Dust!_

Weiss knew those thoughts were empty and meaningless. As enigmatic and difficult as she may be, the girl with the black bow was a good friend and dependable teammate. Sighing, she slumped down onto a patch of grass and stretched back to lean against a nearby tree. Glancing up at the night sky, she tried to steadily calm herself. Eventually, her breathing settled and she ultimately lost herself to the breathtaking sight of a few dozen stars dotting the sky.

She stayed that way for an indeterminable stretch of time, mind both idly wandering and quietly contemplating.

 _Had it been thirty minutes? Forty minutes? An hour?_ She couldn't tell. But in time, as the moon grew brighter and the winter air grew colder, Weiss closed her eyes and let a barely audible whisper escape from her lips into the rustling wind.

 _"I think... I like Blake Belladonna..."_

Following those damning words up with a dubious chuckle, the heiress slowly pulled herself up from the grass. Shaking off the nightly chill, she trudged her way back to the dormitories, determined to get an early night's sleep.

Her stupid essay could wait until morning.


	2. Monochromatic Façades

_**Author's Notes:**_

 **My apologies for getting this chapter out a week or two later than planned. I hope to keep a faster release schedule for future chapters, provided the almighty god of procrastination and laziness doesn't hunt me down. Please leave a comment/review!  
**

* * *

Chapter 2: _Monochromatic Façades_

"Hah!" Blake let out a halted cry as she swung Gambol Shroud in its pistol form towards her target, gripping the ribbon that held it tightly. Soon after, she immediately flung it back with a recoil. _Tsk, a few centimeters off_. Her discerning eyes narrowed in disapproval. Readying herself once again, she put weight into her right arm and threw the pistol forward, repeating the exercise.

Only after her arm was so stiff that she could barely lift it up did Blake consider taking a break from her self-imposed practice. As much as she'd done a lot of rigorous combat training during her time in the White Fang, in her own eyes she was barely competent. There was certainly a lot more ground that she hoped to cover during her next few years at Beacon. Such was the nature of her perfectionist mind.

After stopping by a water fountain to re-hydrate herself, she tiredly made her way back to the dormitories.

* * *

Upon entering the dorm suite, Blake found that the only member of Team RWBY back at base was the snow-themed heiress.

"Hey," Blake called out as she closed the door behind her and walked towards her own bed for a short lie-down.

Weiss, currently engrossed in a large tome detailing the properties of all recorded Semblances since the turn of the century, drawled out a sluggish "hi." A full five seconds later, she momentarily pulled free from her book and shot a swift glance towards the faunus before immediately fastening her eyes back onto her book.

"H-hi Blake!" Weiss repeated, this time far hastier in her delivery.

Nodding, Blake dropped down onto her bed and sighed, turning her attention to her already sore arm and beginning to massage it. In the silence that followed, she let her thoughts wander for some time.

 _The midterms this time around were pretty difficult. I wonder how well I did…_ Now a week into their second semester as sophomores, none of her classmates had received their results yet. Ozpin had blamed it all on a sudden case of the flu that passed through the entire teaching staff over the winter break, a story few students chose to believe. Ruby for one was convinced that a rogue Grimm had escaped into the faculty office and devoured the entire stack of exam papers.

In regards to her team, Blake felt that she was getting along more and more with the other girls. Although she generally still tended towards introversion, she now belonged to a group where she was beginning to feel more comfortable simply being herself. This was of course slightly less true with her present company. Weiss in particular had proven to be a… fairly difficult case.

Ruby and Yang, both of whom were naturally outgoing and overtly friendly, were a lot easier to deal with most of the time. The two sisters were mostly unassuming and easily trusting, traits that Blake secretly found very comforting. And although Blake had had her fair share of problems with Weiss the previous year, nowadays it was even a lot easier to interact with her – the infamous ice queen.

However, that was not to say everything was completely easy-going between the two. Sure, when all four girls came together as a team, there was a magical kind of chemistry that formed among them. They effortlessly meshed together as both a cooperative team and group of friends. In that environment, interactions with the two sisters _and_ Weiss were about as good as can be. Whenever Blake and Weiss were alone like at present, however, there was definitely a minor degree of awkwardness permeating the air.

Blake also felt the most self-conscious around Weiss. Perhaps it was because the heiress sometimes had the tendency to call people out and be unfairly critical at times. Perhaps it was also because both girls tended to hide their most basic of emotions when around others, if in slightly different ways.

 _In any case, at least she's mellowed out somewhat recently_ , thought Blake as the lengthy silence continued. _Maybe I should read a book too._ If there was one thing being alone with Weiss was good for, it was that the slight uneasiness between them made for a good portion of Blake's favorite ingredient: sheer, unadulterated silence.

"A-ahem." A silence that, to Ms. Belladonna's chagrin, was suddenly cut off by a nervous cough from the other side of the room. "Erm… Blake?"

"Yes?" Blake turned her eyes to inspect the heiress. Previously unnoticed by the faunus, Weiss had set aside her monstrously sized tome some moments ago.

"So, uhh… how was your day?" _Dear lord. Weiss Schnee is attempting small talk. Someone stop the presses and radio in backup._

"It was fine," responded Blake.

"Oh," came Weiss' response, followed by a minute of agonizing silence.

 _Save me_ , Blake implored the heavens, suddenly looking for any excuse to leave the room. As much as she liked the quiet, some forms of silence were a bit much for even her to bear. Thankfully, her teammate eventually endeavored to further the conversation.

"Hey… so, what do you say we go shopping this weekend?" Weiss sheepishly proposed. "I haven't had a decent change of clothes in a while now. I think I need a new coat too."

"Okay." The prospect wasn't half bad to Blake. She was almost running out of toothpaste for one. And a new sweater for the unabating cold weather wouldn't hurt either. "Saturday or Sunday?"

"W-well, this week I have both fencing class and vocal practice on Sunday, so… maybe Saturday morning?" Weiss was nervously fidgeting for some reason.

"Sure, I'll be free then. Does that time work for Ruby and Yang?"

"A-actually," stammered Weiss, gulping before continuing. "I was thinking it could just be the two of us…"

Blake was slightly taken aback. Certainly, the two of them could in some sense be regarded as 'friends' after a year and a half, but the faunus had long held the impression that Weiss remained a bit guarded around her. At least this was definitely the first time she had ever asked to do something with Blake that didn't involve the rest of the team. After a moment of consideration, Blake chalked it up to a display of good will on the part of the heiress, as well as possibly an effort to become better friends and mend any past differences between them.

"Sure, Weiss. That sounds fun." Blake offered a small rare smile to the other girl.

"Great!" A faint touch of pink colored Weiss' face, "8 AM work then?"

Blake scrunched up her face for a second, considering. "That might be a _bit_ too early for me. How about 9 o'clock?"

"S-sure, that's fine!"

No sooner was her confirmation uttered than the door burst open, causing both girls to jump in shock at the sudden intrusion. Weiss then heaved a possible sigh of relief at the distraction.

"WE'RE BACK!~" sung out a bouncy red contraption by the name of Ruby Rose as she plummeted into the room.

Yang Xiao Long followed her soon after, beaming as she greeted the room's inhabitants.

"'Sup, girls?"

"Hi Yang. Hi Ruby," responded a narrow-eyed Blake. These two sure knew how to make a ruckus out of nowhere.

" _Maaan_ am I hungry!" Exclaimed Ruby, "I almost thought that class would never end!"

"Yeah, surprisingly a lot more boring than I would've thought," commented Yang.

The two sisters had just come back from their first class in a new elective both had chosen for the new semester. The four girls still took the majority of their classes together as a team, but there were a few outlying cases such as this one.

"Well, it's only 5:30 now but I suppose we can go ahead and get dinner," suggested Weiss, much to the delight of a certain auburn-haired teammate.

Yang voiced her agreement as well: "sounds like a plan! …Stan!"

She was rightfully greeted by collective groans and face-palms from the rest of the squad.

"You didn't even _try_ that time," Weiss exclaimed.

"Meh," shrugged the blonde, "I'm tired. What can I say? Even I gotta resort to the good ol' classics sometimes."

"That was neither good _nor_ a classic," critiqued Blake.

As the team got all their things together and made way for the cafeteria, the cat-eared faunus stole a surreptitious glance at Weiss. _Most people do have more than a single layer to them after all_ , she mused. _Though it seems snow queen here probably has a few more figurative layers than most_. Before she knew it, she found herself mildly looking forward to the upcoming shopping trip.


End file.
